Son rescues disabled mom from burning home in Ceres

A man braved smoke and flames to pull his disabled mother out of their burning home in Ceres on Monday morning, authorities said.

According to Ceres Fire Department Battalion Chief Rich Scola, firefighters were called to a home for a fire in the 2800 block of Villa Roman Drive at 6:42a.m Monday morning (05-05-14) in Ceres Ca. The home is a few blocks southwest of the intersection of Whitmore Avenue and Mitchell Road.

A man braved smoke and flames to pull his disabled mother out of their burning home Monday morning, authorities said.

According to Ceres Fire Department Battalion Chief Rich Scola, firefighters were called to a home in the 2800 block of Villa Roman Drive at 6:42 a.m. The home is a few blocks southwest of Whitmore Avenue and Mitchell Road.

Initially, callers reported that someone might have been trapped inside the house.

“When we arrived, we found the owner had been rescued by her son,” Scola said. The homeowner, who shares the house with her adult son, is elderly and has some physical disabilities.

“He had to drag her out of the house,” Scola said. The woman suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to an area hospital. Scola said she remained under sedation Monday afternoon.

The son, identified only as a 42-year-old man, also suffered smoke inhalation, as well as singed hair from when he rescued his mother. He refused medical treatment, Scola said.

The man told firefighters there were two dogs in the house.

“The son tried to go back in the house for the dogs, but the flames forced him back,” Scola said.

Firefighters found the dogs in the woman’s bedroom, where the fire started. They tried to revive the dogs, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 15 minutes, but the dogs died, Scola said.

The fire spread quickly from the bedroom to the rest of the house. It was not clear Monday afternoon what caused the fire; Scola said the incident remained under investigation.

Twenty-four firefighters from Ceres, Modesto Regional and Stanislaus Consolidated fire departments battled the blaze. They had it under control within 20 minutes, Scola said.